Dirigible automotive arc welder



Oct. 21,' 1952 1 E. w. GoMMEL DIRIGIBLE AUTOMOTIVE ARC WELDER Filed Nov.25, 19450 ,l l l l Il!! Il r Il Il fr Il Il al Patented Oct. 21, 1952DIRIGIBLE AUTOMOTIVE ARC WELDER Ernest W. Gommel, El Cerrito,

Calif., assignor to United States Steel Company, a corporation of NewJersey Application November 25, 1950, Serial No. 197,577 2 Claims. (Cl.219--8) This invention relates to an automotive arc Welder adapted totravel over abutting workpieces under manual control and direction,having provision for laying down a blanket of flux to protect the seambetween the workpieces as it is progressively welded. lnparticular, theinvem tion relates to a wheeled, power-driven welding head having asteering and manipulating handle.

It is frequently desirable to weld seams between the abutting edges ofplates laid on a table or on a shop floor. In order to permit the use ofsubmerged-arc weldingr for such jobs, a port able welding head includinga ux hopper has been employed in conjunction with a stationary automaticelectrode-feeding' unit connected to the head by an insulated hollowcable through which the wire electrode is fed. In using such a head, itVis difcult to control and direct the movement thereof accurately as wellas to maintain the desired arc gap between the work and theprogressively fusing end of the wire electrode. I have invented awheeled automotive Welder having a manipulating handle facilitatingmanual control and direction thereof as well as maintenance of theproper arc gap, thereby overcom ing the aforementioned objections.

In a preferred embodiment, I provide a motor housing with a pair ofwheels journaled on a common axis, adapted to travel along the seam tobe welded. A motor secured in the housing furnishes power to drive thewheels. A iiux hopper secured to the housing delivers flux to the seamand contains a tube for guiding the intermittently fed electrode wire. Asteering handle is secured to the housing or hopper, preferably at rightangles to the wheel axis. The hopper is offset from this axis wherebytilting the handle causes the hopper and the electrode wire protrudingtherefrom to approach or recede from the workpieces. A closure at thedischarge end of the hopper is operable from the end of the handle tocontrol the delivery of the flux.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from thefollowing detailed description and explanation which refer to the accompanying drawings illustrating the present preferred embodiment. In thedrawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing my automotive Welder, aconventional electrode-feeding unit and a cable connecting them andaiiording a passage for the electrode wire;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the Welder;

Figure 3 is a side elevation thereof to an enlarged scale showing it inwelding position;

Figure 4 is a central vertical section through the Welder; and

Figures 5 and 6 are longitudinal and transverse sections respectively,through the connecting cable.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and,

for the present to Figures 1, 5 and 6, the automotive Welder of myinvention indicated generally at I is connected to an automaticelectrodefeeding unit II provided with a reel I2 of electrode wire, by acable I3. This cable is made up of a wire helix I4 defining a passagefor the electrode wire l as it is fed from the reel I2 to the Welder I0.The helix I4 is surrounded ,by conductor wires It laid helicallythereabout. .An insulated sheath I1 surrounds the wires I6 and helix I4.rThe electrode-feeding unit II operates,

when the circuit between the free end of the electrode wire and theworkpiece to be welded is completed, to feed the wire forward as it isfused and deposited in the weld.

The details of welder In are-clearly shown in Figures 2 vthrough 4. Avertically disposed tubular housing I8 has a motor I9 with a built-ingear reducer 20 disposed therein with its axis vertical and secured by astrap 2I encircling the motor. The housing has spaced bearings 22 inwhich a cross shaft 23 is journaled. This is the low-speed or outputshaft of gear reducer 20. Wheels .24 are secured to the ends of shaft 23projecting beyond the bearings 22. The motor I9 is prefere ably avariable-speed motor and is provided with a speed-control knob 25secured to a shaft extending upwardly above vthe housing I8. The wheels24 are of insulating material. v

A flux hopper 26 is attached to the housing I8.

The adjacent surfaces of the housing and hopper are plane and abutflatwise. The hopper is generally conical and is provided with adelivery spout 21 at the lower end. A bifurcated bracket 28 is securedto the housing and hopper and has a socket 28o: adapted to receive oneend of an elongated tubular handle 29. Cable I3 extends through thehandle to a terminal. tting 30 therein of insulating material. A tube 3|of insulating material for guiding the electrode Wire extends from theiitting 30 downward through the spout 21. The handle 29 has a switch 32adjacent its outer end for controlling motor I9. A closure or gate 33for spout 21 is mounted on a rod 34 journaled in a boss 35 on bracket `28. The rod 34 has a crank 36 on the upper end whereby it may be turnedthrough a limited angle by a Bowden cable 31 extending along the handle29 and terminating in a control knob 38 adjacent the outer end thereof.

When it is desired to use the Welder to join a pair of plates, forexample, it is placed over the abutting edges of the latter with thehandle held at such an angle that the free end of electrode wire I5protruding through spout 21 is spaced from the work. Assuming that thehopper 26 has been filled with powdered flux, that the generatorsupplying welding current through wires I6 is operating and gate 33 isclosed, it is only neces- IS and sary to operate switch 32 to startmotor knob 38 to open the gate 33, and then lower handle 29 until thefree end of the electrode wire comes in contact with the Work. Afterinitiating the arc, the handle is raised slightly to maintain the propergap as the Welder advances along the joint under its own power. Unit Iloperates in the known manner by feeding the electrode wire I5 forward asit is fused and deposited into the seam. The Welder, of course, may beconveniently steered by handle 29 to insure that the end of theelectrode wire follows along the seam. When the end of the weld isreached, it is only necessary to tilt the handle 29 upward, thusdiscontinuing the arc, and then restore switch 32 and knob 38 to stopthe motor I9 and cut off the flow of flux from spout 2l.

It will be apparent that the invention is characterized by numerousadvantages. Of these, the most important is that the operator is saved agreat deal of strain and fatigue Which would Abe involved in supportinga welding head by hand and moving it along the desired line of WeldWhile attempting to maintain the proper arc gap. The motor drive assuresuniform speed of travel of the Welder which is almost impossible in amanually supported Welding head. The provision of a variable-speed motormakes it possible to Weld at the speed best suited to the character ofthe workpieces. The device produces a much more uniform weld from thestandpoint of metal deposited, Weld penetration and maintenance of thedesired line of weld than would be possible by manual handling of aportable Welding head. Finally, the device is simple in construction yethighly effective in operation and permits a Weld to be made much morequickly than by hand.

Although I have disclosed herein the preferred embodiment of myinvention, I intend to cover as well any change or modification thereinwhich may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. While reference has been made herein to the abuttingWorkpieces, the invention is applicable to the welding of lap or otherjoints as well as butt joints.

I claim:

1. An automotive arc Welder comprising a vertically upstanding tubularmotor housing having a flat face on one side, a pair of spacedsupporting wheels journaled on a common axis adjacent the lower end ofsaid housing, adapted to travel on a workpiece, a motor in said housingdriving said Wheels, a hopper on said one side of said housing having ailat face in flatwise engagement with the flat face of the housing and aspout adapted to deposit welding ux on the workpiece along a linebetween said Wheels, an electrode guide tube extending through saidspout, and a manipulating handle having a bifurcated end embracing saidhopper, said end being secured to said housing and extending generallynormal to said axis whereby an electrode protruding from said tube maybe caused to move toward or away from the workpiece by tilting saidhandle downwardly and upwardly, respectively.

2. An automotive arc Welder as deiined by claim 1 characterized by aclosure for said spout, and manual control means for said closureextending along said handle.

ERNEST W. GOMMEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,953,915 Burgett et al Apr. 3,1934 2,357,376 Baird Sept. 5, 1944 2,423,190 Kennedy July 1, 19472,478,525 Cutrer Aug. 9, 1949 2,510,204 Baird June 6, 1950 2,536,294Landis et al Jan. 2, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 519,256France June 7, 1921 355,756 Germany July 3, 1922 367,360 Germany Jan.20, 1923

